Antivibration device



y 1930. B. A. MORTON 1,771,229

ANTIYIBRATION DEVICE Filed Oct. 25'. 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR Ifieqjamz'n fl. Marf'oh BY I fl TTORNEY5 B. A. MORTON ANTIVIBRATIONDEVICE Filed Oct. 23. 1928 July 22,. 1930.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS July 22, 1930.

B. A. MORTON AN'IIVIBRATION DEVICE Filed Oct. 25. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3A ORNEY5 Patented July 22, 1930 UNrrEn STATES'PA'TENTOFFICE BENJAMIN A.MORTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ANTIWBRATION DEVICE This invention has to do with prevention of windowrattling and pertains more especially to motor vehicle Windows,although-its utility is not restricted to that specific field.

The sliding plate glass windows of enclosed motor vehicles areordinarily held at their two vertical'edges in resilientchannelshapedguidesmade usually of pressed felt, or some other suitable resilientfabric; While new, such guides generally serve satisfactorily to preventthe windows from rattling, but they soon wear and shrink or be-.

come compressed to such an extent that they no longer functionefiiciently. The use of fabric guides having sufiicient density andcross-sectional area to be self-compensating against the looseningeffects of wear and compression is seemingly impracticable because ofthe hygroscopic properties of such fabrics as are otherwise suitable.Such guides would, no doubt, function efliciently for long periods oftime if the weather were uniformly fair. But, unfortunately, theabsorption of moisturein rainy weather would cause the fabric toexpandrand, consequently, the-windows to stick so that they could notreadily be raised and lowered.

The object of the present invention, as will be inferred, is to overcomethe above-mentioned difficulty, and to that end it is directed to theprovision of anti-rattle mechanisms that are operable toeii'ect vigorousrestraint against window vibration without regard to the vicissitudes ofweather or to wear'or deformation of fabric guides as aforementioned butwhich, notwithstanding, will permit the windows being raised and low--ered freely at all times.

For a description of the invention, reference will now be made to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing, in considerabledetailg a structure in accordance with the preferred embodiment of theinvention. 1

Flg. 2 is an elevational-view ofacornplete window structure and operatmgmechanism corresponding to that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional detail view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig.2. r

Fig. 4 is another cross-sectional detail view taken along the line 4-4of F ig. 2. V

Fig. 5 is an elevational View of *aJ'fWlDdOW structure like that of Fig.2, but embodying an alternative form of operating; mechanism- Fig.6 is asectional View along theline 66 of Fig. 5, and shows details of thealternative operating mechanism.

The invention depicted inFigs. 1 to 4, inelusive, comprises a metalwindow-frame 1, which may be assumed to; be incorporated in anautomobile body. This frame has a rectangular window opening 2, thelower edge of which is defined by a sill 3; and in the vertical sides ofwhich there are grooves or channels 4 in which the plate g'lassf'panelfor closure 5is arranged to move. While ordinarily the closure 5 consistsof a glass plate,

as indicated in the drawing-,itshould be mentloned that the closure may,on occasion, consist ofani opaque: panel or sash.

The closure 5 is adapted to slide vertically both up and down inresilient channelrshaped fabric guides 6 which are disposedin thegrooves 4 and extend nearly thewho-lelengtlr of the window frame, Theguides 6 are not rest againsttheinclined surfaces" 8, along.

which they are slidable in a direction sub stantially uorm'alto theirlength; In addigripping the closure 5' tion the surfaces 7 of the bars?may also be given an inclination as is most clearly illustrated n Flgs'.and l. As wlllbe apparent from a consideration-of the latter figures,any

movement of the bars 7 in a direction towardthe closure 5-whichdirection would be to the right, as viewed in the figures mentioned willcause awed-g-u-ig. action tending strong?- ly to grip-the closurebetween the side Walls 7 of the guides. Conversely, movements ofthe bars7 in the opposite directions wlll relleve the gripping action on theclosure 5 and permit the latter freely to be raised and lowered.

As may be seen from an examination of Figs. 3 and 4, the bars 7 are ofL-shape crosssection from the top end down to a point near the bottomend, below which point the crosssection is Z-shape. The lower ends ofthese bars are each pivotally attached to the arm of a bell-crank 9thepivotal connections of the bars to the bell-cranks being designated 9(see Fig. 1). The bell-cranks are, in turn, pivoted at 9 on a crossmember The upper end of each bar 7 has an inclined slot 7 through eachof which extends a supporting pin 11. Upon rotation of the bell-cranks 9against the tension of their restraining springs 12 the bars 7 willobviously move outwardly and thus relieve the pressure nor mally exertedagainst the guides 6, thereby permitting the closure 5 to be raised andlow ered with little restraint.

The raising and lowering mechanism comprises the usual chain 13,sprockets 14, 15 and crank 16, which is mounted on a shaft 17 journaledon a dependingprojection 18 of the window sill. The chain 13 includes aspecial link 19 having a cross-pin 20 to which is connected the ends ofa pair of levers 21, 22, the ends of these levers engaging pin 20 beingslotted, as shown in 1. The lever 21 is pivotally attached at 23. to ametallic channel-shaped member 24 attached to the bottom of the plateglass closure. The lever 22 is pivotally mounted at 25 (see Fig. 2) inthe same way as described with reference to the lever 21. Each of thetwo levers 21, 22 is bifurcated at one end, as shown, and each of thebranches 21, 21 22 22 carries a roller 26, 27', 28, 29-, respectively,

\Vhen crank 16 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow onsprocket 14 the long ends of levers 21, 22 are lifted by virtue of theirconnection to the link 19. The applied force rotates the two leversabout their pivots 2325 and thereby causes the rollers 26 and 28 to bepressed against the bars 7. The force thus applied to these bars pushesthem outwardly, the movement thereof being facilitated by reason oftheir being mounted at their lower ends on the rotatable bellcranks 9and by reason of the inclined slots 7". These slots provide for movementof the upper ends of the bars 7 along paths substantially parallel tothose traversed by the lower ends of the bars. This movement of the bars7 immediately releases the gripping engagement upon the closure 5leaving it free to be moved up and down so long as the force upon thecrank 16 continues to be applied. The long arms of the levers 21, 22continue to move upwardly about their pivots until they strike the stops30 and 31, at which point the bars 7 are moved in far enough for thewindow to move freely. The force exerted upon the crank 16 is thereafterapplied solely to the lifting of the closure without any furtherrotation of the levers 21, 22. lVhen the closure has been lifted to thedesired extent and the crank 16 released, the levers 21, 22 resume theirnormal positions wherein they do; not exert any substantial forceagainst the bars 7 and the latter are then free to re turn to theirnormal positions under the ac tuation of springs 12. Consequently, theedges of closure 5 are immediately gripped as before. The handle 16 maybe given a slight reverse motion to insure the return of the levers 2].,22 to normal position.

The lowering of the closure is effected by rotating crank 16 in thealternate direction.

In response to such rotation the link 19 movesdownwardly. This, in turn,causes the rollers 27 and 29 to be brought into active en gagement withtheir respectivel i associated bars 7 and thus function to push the barsoutwardly in the same manner as described with reference to the actionof the rollers 26 and 28.,

and 33 functlon in the same manner Stops stops 30 and 31. it IS commonpractice to provide, in window structures of the type described, meansfor counter-balancing the weight of the plate Such a device ispreferably glass closure. en'iployed with the structures hereindescribed, but it does not seem necessary to encumber this disclosure bythe inclusion of a showing of that kind, the details of which will beimmediately apparent to those skilled in the art.

Figs. 5 and 6 depict an alternative structure which has been includedfor the purpose of showing an arrangement in which the releasing of theclosure from the normal gripping action, previously described, iscarried out as a more or less independent operational step preliminaryto the rotation of the crank for raising or lowering the closure. Inthis alternative structure the device for gripping the edges of theclosure may be substantially the same, or at least the same inprinciple, as that previously described. The same reference numerals areused in Figs. 5 and G as in the preceding figures in so far as theelements to which they refer are substantially the same or identical infunction.

The major difference between the two structures resides in the releasingmechanisms. The two vertical bars 7 of Fig. 5 may be diagonally slottedat both ends, as indicated at points 34. At a level just below the sillthere are shown a pair of hell cranks 35 and 36, one end of each beingpivotally connected toone of the two bars 7, respectiveiy. Thesebell-cranks are pivotally mounted at points 36 respectively, and theirshort arms are pivotally connected to links 37 and 88, respectively.These in turn are connected to an annular disk 39 which is adapted to berotated forthepurpose :of transmitting motion to the bell-cranks iandv36and thus moving the bars 7 to releasethe normal grip upon the closure.The details of the structure including the annular disk 39*are shownmost clearly in Fig. 6, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the.line 66 of Fig. 5.

From this view it will be noted that the periphery of the disk 39isgrooved circumferentially and that the groove is engaged by a pair offlanges 40 and 41, the function of which is to restrain the disk39against movement along the shaft 17 but at the same time permit it torotate. The bore or inner surr face of disk 39 has a number 'of' helicalradially projecting teeth, each of which engages acorresponding groove42 in the periphery of an innerdisk 42 mounted on the shaft 1?, but notsecured thereto. Disk 42 is restrained against rotation by pins 43 whichpass through suitable apertures therein. The inner disk isfree to bemoved in the direction of the axis of shaft 17 along pins 43. Thismovement is effected by pulling on the crank 16 thereby transmitting an,axial movement to the shaft 17 together with collars 4A and 45 which aresecured to the shaft 17 to either side of the inner disk. When crank'16together with shaft 17 and disk 42 are pulled toward the operator, theannular disk 39 is forcibly rotated by reasonv of its engagement withthe inner-disk 42 through the helical teeth and grooves which have beendescribed. This causes animmediate rotation of the bell cranks 35 and 36and in turn, an outward movement of the bars7, resulting in a re leaseof the normal gripping action upon the edges of the closure. Hence,with-the crank 16 in its pulled-out position it may be rotated to raiseandlower the closurethrough the agency of chain 13 and sprockets 1 1and'15. WVhen the closure has been moved to the desired position thecrank 16 is pushedback to its normal position,"thus restoring theannular disk 39 and in turn the bell-cranks 85, 36 and the bars 7 totheir normal positions wherein the gripping action upon the edges of theclosure is again exerted.

Vfhile there has been disclosed and de-i scribed what is considered tobea preferred embodiment ofthe invention, 'itris manifest that there arenumerous practicable equivalents which could'readily be devised andwhich would-be well adapted to perform the 5 functions described.Moreover, itis not basially for motor -vehicles"it is, neverthelessentirely practicable. and certainly within the scope of the inventiveconcept; y 1 .What isiclaimedisz Y z a In a window-structure, thecombination with a window: frame having a window opening, of aislidableclosure for said opening, guide grooves for said closurein thesides of said-opening, a device normally operable to effect agrippingengagement of said closure to prevent rattling, said device extendinginto said groove and lying entirely within the 'same throughout itsextent alongside the window opening, and a mechanism for releasing saidclosure from the gripping engage- -ment effected by'said device, saidmechanism 'being operable in response to force applied to slide saidclosure. V

2' In a window structure, the combination with awindow frame havingawindow opening,'a slidable closure for said opening, guide grooves forsaid closure in the sides of said opening, a manually operable mechanismfor sliding said closure to open and close the window, azdevice normallyoperable to engage and restrain said closure against rattling, saiddevice extending into said groove and lying entirely within the samethroughout its extent alongside the window opening, and aninterconnection between said mechanism and said devicefor automaticallyreducing the restraining act-ion of said device upon said closure duringthe periods when saidvclosure is being moved, 3. In a window structure,a Window frame having an opening,a slidable panel functioning as avariable closure for said opening, a guide for said panel,'said panelbeing slidable in said guide, a wedge operable conjointly with saidguide to gripan edge portionof said panel to prevent rattling thereof, amanually operable mechanism for slidably moving said panel, and amechanical interconnection between said mechanism and said wedge forautomatically releasing said wedge whenever a force is applied to saidmechanism to move said panel, said interconnection being operable tohold. said wedge released only during the application of force to saidmechanism tending to move said panel, :and means normally operable tohold said wedge in its gripping position. i

LQThe combination of a window frame having a guide groove, a windowclosure mounted in'said guide groove, an anti-rattling device therefor,said device comprising a wedge extending along the edge of the window insaid groove normally operable to exert an anti-rattle restraining actionagainst said closure, and a mechanism operable to release said wedge inresponse toand-during the application of force to said closure foreffecting opening and. closing movements thereof, and meansoperable-automatically vto shift said wedge to grip said closure uponthe aforementioned force being discontinued.

5. In a window structure, a slidable closure, a guide, said closurebeing slidably mounted in said guide, a yieldable spring actuated wedgemember normally exerting pressure between said guide and said closureand thereby restraining it against rattling, a mechanism for slidablymoving said closure, and a releasing device operable by said mechanismand in response to operation thereof to retract said spring actuated memher and hold the same retracted during the operation of said mechanismbut not otherwise.

6. In a window structure, a slidable closure, a guide, said closurebeing slidably mounted in said guide, a yieldable spring actuated wedgenormally exerting pressure against said guide and thereby eflecting agripping engagement between said guide and said closure thus normallyrestraining said closure against rattling, a mechanism for slidablymoving said closure in said guide and a releasing device operable toretract said wedge and hold it retracted during movements of saidclosure.

7. In a window structure, a slidable panel closure, a guide for saidclosure a spring actuated wedge bar slidably mounted in said guide andnormally operable to effect a gripping action upon said closure for thepurpose of restraining said closure against vibration said bar beingyieldable to relieve the gripping force normally exerted thereby uponsaid closure, a manually operable mechanism for sliding saidclosure insaid guide, and a lever operable to move said wedge bar out of itsnormal actuated position for relieving the aforementioned grippingaction, said lever being connected to said mechanism and operable inresponse to movements thereof,

8. In a window structure, a slidable panel closure, a resilient guidefor said closure, a spring actuated mechanical device normally operableto exert pressure on said guide and thus cause said guide to grip saidclosure and thereby prevent rattling thereof, a mechanism for slidingsaid closure, and a lever connected to said mechanism and pivotallyconnected to said closure, the end of said lever remote from saidmechanism being operable to engage and move said spring-actuatedmechanical device to relieve the pressure exerted thereby upon saidguide, said lever being operable in response to movements of saidmechanism.

9. In a window structure, a slidable panel closure, a resilient guidefor said closure, a spring actuated mechanical device normally operableto exert pressure on said guide and thus cause said guide to grip saidclosure and thereby prevent rattling thereof, a mechanism for slidingsaid closure, and a lever connected to said mechanism and pivotallyconnected to said closure, the end of said lever remote from saldmechanism being bifurcated, the two branches of the bifurcated end ofsaid lever being operable alternately to engage and move said springactuated mechanical device to relieve the pressure exerted thereby uponsaid guide, said lever being operable in response to movements of saidmechanism, one of said branches being brought into action when saidmechanism is operated in one direction and vice versa.

10. In a window structure, a frame having a window opening and groovesat either side of said opening, a slidable closure for said opening,said closure having opposite edge portions disposed in said groovesrespectively, a pair of clamping members, one in each of said grooves,operable conjointly with said frame to grippingly engage the respectiveedge portions of said closure for the purpose of restraining it againstfree vibration, spring means for actuating said clamping members, amechanism for slidably moving said closure lengthwise of said grooves,and means connected with said mechanism and operable conjointlytherewith for automatically releasing said clamping memberspreliminarily to each operation of said closure.

11. In a window structure, a frame having awindow opening and grooves ateither side of said opening, a resilient elongated guide in each of saidgrooves, said guides extending lengthwise of said grooves, a slidableclosure for said opening, said closure having opposite edge portionsdisposed in said guides respectively, a pair of elongated clamping bars,one in each of said grooves, said bars being operable conjointly withsaid frame to gripiingly engage the respective edge portions of saidclosure in their respective guides for the purpose of restraining saidclosure against free vibration, said clamping bars being yieldable forrelieving the gripping action upon said closure, a mechanism forslidably moving said closure lengthwise of said grooves, and a pair oflevers pivotally attached to said closure, one end of each of saidlevers being connected to said mechanism said levers being initiallyrotatable upon actuation of said mechanism, stops for limiting therotation of said levers whereby motion is transmitted to said closure,the alternate ends of said levers being arranged to engage and move saidclamping bars respectively into releasing positions to relieve therestraint upon said closure and further to hold said bars deactuatedduring the operation of said mechanism, and means for automaticallyshifting said bars into their gripping positions as soon as eachoperation of said mechanism is terminated.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

BENJAMIN A. MORTON.

